Friday, January 16, 2009

[MISP] A NEW DIGITAL MEDIA INDUSTRY

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The use of tax paying money to build a new digital media industry unique toNew Mexico was the main concept I was pushing day one, even before the filmincentive was passed. Nicolas Paine (my producing partner) traveled togovernment offices and schools all over New Mexico, not just Albuquerque andSanta Fe, and the New Mexicans we talked to, especially those living in thesmaller communities like Grants finding it difficult to get a piece of thefilm incentive pie loved the idea. However, the top dogs, all of which Iknew, didn¹t seem to agree with me for some reason. THEY FELT WHAT I WASSAYING (ABOUT A NEW DIGITAL MEDIA INDUSTRY) WAS TOO FAR INTO THE FUTURE TOCONCERN THEMSELVES WITH. Elyse Meredith, my business partner, who didbelieve in what I was saying donated over 100,000 dollars to help implementsome of these ideas with likeminded New Mexican digital institutions like³Duke City Shootout.² But, even that cool little festival as well as therest of the New Mexico film industry seemed to become more and more enamoredwith the glamour of Big Hollywood and the possibility of big money enrichingthe state that I now feel her money and my efforts was money and energy notwell spent. I can thoroughly understand the sexiness of Hollywood being achild of it, but I also know how the town works and how one¹s word meansabsolutely nothing. People don¹t matter, only the bottom line matters, whichis okay if the rewards were equitable to all. This is why so many NewMexican¹s are feeling taken advantage of. It is great that some bigwigs arenow saying the idea of using tax dollars to build a thoroughly New Mexicandigital media industry to be ready for the future is a good way to go.Someone added me, probably a New Mexican, to www.thinkexist.com stating³FIVE YEARS FROM NOW, THIS COULD BE A DIGITAL MECCA.² I am not sure howmuch time is left from when I made that statement, but New Mexicans aregreat artists, great scientists and a proud people...They¹ll make it happensooner or later.